Hanover residents in state of emergency over lack of water

Members of water association are running out of water

SILVER CITY >> Hanover is having a water crisis. At Tuesday's Grant County Commission work session, commissioners declared Hanover in a state of emergency so funding could be opened up to help the Hanover Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Association, Inc., solve its water problems. According to Grant County Commissioner and Hanover resident Brett Kasten, some Hanover residents may not have enough water to get through to the end of the month.

"They're in trouble," Kasten said. Although he lives in Hanover, the small mining community near Bayard, Kasten says he has his own well and would not be affected by the water shortage some Hanover residents are now facing.

The Hanover Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Association, Inc. supplies water to approximately 400 residents in the Hanover area. Eddy Evatt, president of the water association, said he provides service to residents in Hanover, Vanadium, Turnerville and north toward Fiero.

Although Evatt said one of his 500-foot wells is down completely and the other one is in trouble, he claims the situation is not quite that bad.

"We're not in a dire strait, but we've got to watch what we're doing," Evatt said.

Currently, Evatt said he can only pump about 13,000 to 14,000 gallons a day. But he can't pump water continuously or he'll run out of water completely. He said he needs to pump 20,000 to 21,000 gallons a day to break even.

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Bayard Mayor Charles Kelly said that the water association and Bayard have an agreement that the association can tap into Bayard's water supply and collect 200,000 gallons of water a month. But Kelly said the association is supposed to pay Bayard for that water, and so far, it owes Bayard more than $20,000 in back payments.

"We're giving them until August 31st or we'll have to cut them off," Kelly said.

Kelly said that if the water association doesn't have enough water to get to the end of the month, as Kasten claims, Bayard might call a town council meeting to discuss the issue.

"We will have to assess that. Given that our aquifers are not that deep, in dry times, we have to be careful. We have to take care of our people first," Kelly said.

Kelly said this isn't the first time this has happened to Hanover's water association. He said that when the unincorporated town of Hanover ran out of water several years ago, water stations were set up to help residents through the crisis.

Evatt said that approximately eight years ago, he was able to measure water in his wells from 80 feet at the top of the well. Now he measures water from 80 feet from the bottom of his 500-foot wells.

Evatt said the problem is the drought.

"We haven't had any snowpack, we haven't had any rain," Evatt said. "We could bounce back if we get rain like (weather forecasters) anticipate."

Kasten says the county is trying to work with the water association on its rates. Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, Inc. is working to help the association with hydrology and the New Mexico Environmental Department is trying to help the association get a new well.

But for now, Hanover residents who are members of the association may find themselves without water soon.

"We can be a cheerleader for them, I guess," Kasten said. "They really need that."